TeamSG's Shuttlers Prepping Hard To Qualify for Paris 2024!

(Standing - 1st from Left) Martin Andrew, Technical Director of Singapore Badminton Association and Team Singapore athletes and officials at Commonwealth Games 2022. Photo Credit : Andy Chua/Commonwealth Games Singapore

Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) recently selected a team of the nation's top-ranked shuttlers to compete at the week-long Asian Mixed Team Championships. Over in Dubai, the Republic faced stiff competition from Asian giants China and South Korea, while also competing against Uzbekistan in the same group. Our TeamSG shuttlers did their level best, but weren't able to overcome their much stronger and higher-ranked Chinese and Korean opponents, before wrapping up their campaign with a 5-0 victory over the Uzbeks. As a developing country in the sport of badminton (Uzbekistan), Singapore were already expected to beat their West Asian opponent. The bigger questions though, were related to how does the 2023 Singapore team of shuttlers measure up to their Asian counterparts? 

For a much clearer understanding of TeamSG's current national shuttlers, their training programmes and expectations for 2023, we caught up with Martin Andrew - Technical Director, Singapore Badminton Association.

Q : The SBA sent a 10-member squad to compete at last week's Asian Mixed Team Championships in Dubai (14-19 Feb). What was your initial reaction, when you heard the news of Singapore being drawn together with powerhouses China and South Korea? 
Martin : It’s out of our control as we were seeded 9^th, so we were always going to be drawn into a group with two higher ranked teams. But we would have preferred to have Taipei, Malaysia, Thailand or India. You have to look at it positively as it sets you a challenge, we knew they wouldn’t field their strongest teams. But their 2^nd best are still very strong at world level and we knew our shuttlers would have tough matches.

TeamSG's Terry Hee and Loh Kean Hean at 2022 Singapore Badminton Open. Photo Credit : Sport Singapore

Q : The Men’s Doubles pairing of Terry Hee and Loh Kean Hean featured only once together in Dubai. And that was against the Koreans which they lost 21-13, 21-16. Your thoughts on their performance? 
Martin : Terry & Kean Hean are no longer a partnership, they split up towards the end of 2022 (after the World Championships in August), so that Terry could concentrate on his mixed doubles partnership. They do not have issues to play together when representing Singapore, so we had no hesitation in pairing them up for the Korean match. They performed well in the clash and really challenged their strong opponents. They know each other’s skills and abilities well, so it will still feel quite normal to be on court together. They were however, not able to finish off some of the important rallies when they had worked a scoring opportunity on court. 

TeamSG's Andy Kwek and Danny Bawa Chrisnanta in action at the 2021 SEA Games. Photo Credit : Sport Singapore/Lim Weixiang)

Q : Was it a strategic move to also pair up Kean Hean and Andy Kwek for the matches against China and Uzbekistan and did it work?  
Martin : They are a relatively new partnership that's been formed after Terry went down to one event, so it's right to see them being challenged by the Chinese pairing. They have a few areas to work on and develop both individually and as a pair. So this event was a good indicator for them and the coaches. They've played together once prior, which was in the Team Event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. So we'll be working with them now to develop their game further.

TeamSG's Yeo Jia Min at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua /Commonwealth Games Singapore

Q : In the Women’s Singles, Yeo Jia Min had a close match with Kim Ga-uen before going down in 3 games. How would you sum up her only outing in Dubai?  
Martin : Jia Min played well in her match.  She lost to the same Korean opponent in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and had also lost to her since then. So to challenge Kim so closely (this time) was a good effort. Jia Min can perform at a high level, but has been struggling to find form over the last 6-9 months. We do hope that this performance has enabled her to turn a corner and start to piece together some stronger results as we move forward. She needs to play tactically good for her style, which she has found it to be difficult recently. And she has some notable strengths which can win matches, so the coaches are working with her to stay focussed on these.

TeamSG's Insyirah Khan at the Singapore Sports Hub National Open Championships 2023 (Presented by Eagle Brand). Photo Credit : Singapore Badminton Association

Q : Also featuring in the Women’s Singles, is the up and coming Insyirah Khan. Her opening match was a 21-3, 21-15 loss to Gao Fangile (CHN). But the 2-time National Champion did bounce back to beat her Uzbekistan opponent in straight sets. Your thoughts on Insyirah?
Martin : Insyirah is one of Singapore’s most improved players! She is getting better with almost every match at the moment.  If you take away the 1st game of her match against Gao, she played really well and challenged her in the 2^nd game. She was not scared to take the game to her opponent which shows some character after being outclassed in the 1st game. Gao was a top player previously, but got injured. And she's now recovered and is getting back to her previous levels. Against Diana Garamova (Uzbekistan), Insyirah was simply too good and controlled the game from the start, before going on to win 21-6, 21-3.

TeamSG's Terry Hee and Jessica Tan at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua/ Commonwealth Games Singapore

Q : Onto the Mixed Doubles, Terry Hee and Jessica Tan featured once and that was in a straight sets win over Uzbekistan. We also saw Andy Kwek and Crystal Wong fall to the Koreans, while Terry partnered the latter against the Chinese and lost. Could you shed some light on changing up the partners in this category? 
Martin : We have two relatively good mixed doubles pairings in Terry & Jessica, plus Andy & Crystal. Hence, we wanted to play them both in the matches. Jessica has been dealing with some personal issues recently, so we flew her out a couple of days after the team, but she was ready to play against Uzbekistan. Terry & Jessica do not have anything to prove at present and with Jessica not being fully prepared, we decided to leave her out of the early matches - also to let her deal with jetlag. 

TeamSG's Crystal Wong (Front Row, 2nd from Left) and Andy Kwek (Back Row, 2nd from Left) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua / Commonwealth Games Singapore

Martin : Andy & Crystal performed well against the Korean pair, as they pushed them much closer than expected by their opponents. Andy & Crystal are a relatively young pairing in experience terms and need to have more matches and tournaments to develop further. Thus, it was really good to see how they handled this match. We then played Terry & Crystal together against China. This was to prevent Andy from playing twice, while also giving his partnership with Kean Hean, a challenge against a good Chinese pair. Terry & Crystal did play together in the past (2021), so it was quite comfortable for them to compete again as a pair. Whilst it is good to be able to mix the pairings up a little, it is only for the purposes of the team event to do so and rest players when needed.

TeamSG's Crystal Wong (left) and Jin Yujia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua / Commonwealth Games Singapore

Q : In the Women’s Doubles, Jin Yujia and Crystal Wong were unable to overcome their Korean and Chinese opponents, before claiming victory over the Uzbeks. Your assessment of the Republic’s top women’s pairing?
Martin : Yujia & Crystal have really stepped up their level over the last one year. And in the last 6 months, they've shown that they can compete with some of the top pairs, as they continue to improve and are showing that they can! They still have to work on sustaining their level against the top pairs from a physical, tactical and mental perspective, but they can do it! Their aim is to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. And that means, they have to get into the top 13-16 pairs. It’s a difficult task to qualify in doubles, but they have a good chance if they can keep this level of performance going throughout the qualification period.

TeamSG's Jason Teh at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua / Commonwealth Games Singapore

Q : Looking at the Men’s Singles, Jason Teh was pushed to 3 games before falling to Lei Lanxi (CHN), and he did go on to beat his Uzbekistan opponent. Your take on Singapore’s 2^nd ranked Men’s Singles player?  
Martin : Jia Heng is another young player who is learning all the time. He played really well in the first 2 games against his strong Chinese opponent. Lei Lanxi had a lower world ranking (121). But that’s just an indication of the number of events he’s been able to compete in, we knew any singles player on their list was going to be good! Jason played well tactically and showed his level, But in the 3^rd game he got tired which is not an excuse - 5 weeks ago he was hitting only statically as we were trying to rehabilitate him through some niggling injuries with the physio team. He has listened to the specialists and prepared gradually for this event. He has a few more weeks to be back at a good physical level, but it was good to see him challenged by this and understand he’s on a good pathway!

TeamSG's Loh Kean Yew at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua / Commonwealth Games Singapore

Q: Regarding Team Singapore's Loh Kean Yew, he featured only once in Dubai and that was in a 3-games defeat to his Korean opponent. Your thoughts on the 2021 world champion?  
Martin : Kean Yew showed his level in the 1st game of his match, but wasn’t able to sustain it. His opponent Lee Yun-gyu is ranked much lower, but stayed persistent and seemed to get stronger as the match went on. Kean Yew is working on a number of developments in his game style at present and gradually implementing them into his game, but this takes time. He is still a world top-8 ranked player and he will show that again soon in upcoming performances, as things function well. This is not an excuse for Kean Yew. But unfortunately, the court surface has been tricky and players with light footwork styles, have struggled with the courts when they get some moisture on them from sweat. This is due to the surface level of the courts - other players who have struggled to perform here include other top-10 stars such as Anthony Ginting (Indonesia) and Kodai Naroka (Japan), who are both similar to Kean Yew in the way they move.  It’s hard to ignore it when moving fast, you don’t know that you will remain on your feet.

Team Singapore's shuttlers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Photo Credit : Andy Chua / Commonwealth Games Singapore

Q : With the All-England Championships and SEA Games coming up in the next 3 months, what will the focus be on?  
Martin : Each player and pair has a different focus as we move forward, some are getting their world rankings into a position to start the Olympic Qualification process. Others are simply trying to gain more experience and improve their world ranking, which determines which level of tournament they can enter. Kean Yew has targeted the All England as one he would like to perform well in this year, and he could. For our other players, the All England will be the biggest annual traditional tournament they have played in so far! That's followed by the all-important SEA Games campaign in Cambodia, and then the 2023 Singapore Open in June. So each singles player and pairing has separate goals and targets to achieve. Some will travel to Europe to compete in 2-4 tournaments there, while others will remain in Asia and compete in some of the lower-tiered Asian events which are really tough to do well in! The SEA Games sits on our goals and each player selected, has their own targets for the events they play in, as well as the overall Team Event. 

With that said, the focus for 2023 and 2024 differs for each player and with the qualification process for the Olympics starting the week of the SEA Games (5 May 2023 onwards), it is important that we keep some tournaments in perspective - for the top players they have the Badminton Asia Championships (Dubai) in the week just before the SEA Games. And after the Games, we could flow into a period of 8 tournaments in 9 weeks. And that would then mean 10 events in 11 weeks with the Asian Champs and SEA Games, their bodies and mentalities will not withstand that demand. Hence, we have to truly observe and make tough decisions accordingly, as a coaching and management team.